Bob Edlin: Willis says she has no ambition to be PM

Willis says she has no ambition to be PM – but why not put the question to others with better Mood of the Boardroom rankings?

Herald editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness obviously went fishing for a headline-grabbing declaration from the Minister of Finance that she wants Christopher’s Luxon’s job.

Nicola Willis was too fly for that.

But when you ask questions like those asked by Kirkness, there will be a story – even if it’s a denial.

The Herald therefore could report the results of its interview under the headline:

Exasperated Finance Minister Nicola Willis denies future PM run

The exasperation resulted from the number of times the question was put.

The far-from-shattering news beneath the headline said:

Nicola Willis defends Christopher Luxon’s future as PM, ruling out her own challenge at Mood of the Boardroom function in Auckland.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is adamant she is not eyeing up Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s job amid declining reviews from some of the country’s top business identities.

The question of National’s leadership no doubt was triggered by findings from the NZ Herald’s latest Mood of the Boardroom survey, which canvassed 150 chief executives and other business leaders.

The juiciest chunk of news to emerge from the rankings was that Luxon was ranked outside the top 10 rankings of Cabinet.

But so was Willis.

Both lost ground from last year’s results.

So let’s suppose the results of the survey were potent enough to panic the Nats into finding a new leader.

Would they turn to someone who finished up just two places him?

Why not turn to someone in the top 10 (as reported by Kiwiblog)?

1. Erica Stanford (Education) 4.38/5 (+0.37)
2. Winston Peters 3.82/5 (+0.16)
3. Chris Bishop (Infrastructure) 3.80/5 (-0.08)
4. Todd McClay (Trade) 3.74/5 (+0.24)
5. Mark Mitchell (Police) 3.66/5 (+0.04)
6. Simeon Brown (Health) 3.61/5 (-0.28)
7. Judith Collins (Defence) 3.60/5 (-0.14)
8. Brooke van Velden (Workplace Relations) 3.25/5 (-0.35)
9. Shane Jones (Regional Development) 3.24/5 (+0.11)
10. Barbara Edmonds 3.20/5 (+0.46)

Sure, not all of them are Nats.

But is none of them a more likely candidate than Willis?

Apparently not, in the assessment of the Herald:

During a live question and answer session alongside Labour finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds, Willis insisted Luxon’s job was “completely safe” and rebuffed suggestions from moderator and Herald editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness that the results could increase speculation Luxon could be replaced.

“I don’t think so,” she replied.

“I respect the 150 people in this room deeply, but you are not broadly representative of the five million people we serve.”

Let’s put another fly on the line and cast again:

Asked whether she wanted to be Prime Minister, Willis stated bluntly: “No.”

“Never?” Kirkness asked. “No,” Willis said.

Kirkness: “Are you ruling out a run for Prime Minister?”

Willis: “I’m not running for Prime Minister.”

Kirkness apparently doesn’t recognise that a politician who says no to that sort of question is unlikely to suddenly throw up his or arms and confess: “It’s a fair cop – I want to be the boss.”

He persisted with his attempt to get such a confession, apparently:

As Kirkness sought a direct answer, an exasperated Willis responded: “No, how many different ways do I need to say it? Are people with me? I think I’ve been quite clear.”

She then argued it was unwise to seek specific roles in politics, given it often relied on luck and timing, and she was instead focused on what could be achieved in government.

“We can’t get it done in a term, team, and if you throw it up and put the other guys in charge that puts the country at risk.”

Edmonds also confirmed it was “still the case” she had no ambition to become Prime Minister.

It was rash for Willis and Edmonds to restrict their future career paths by saying they would never take a certain job, although – should they ever land the job – they won’t be the first to have publicly said they did not aspire to it..

As for the Herald, Murray Kirkness presumably was hoping to tempt Willis into lending credence to speculation generated by columnist Matthew Hooton.

Kirkness, with a grin, jokingly suggested his questions about Luxon’s leadership had come from Hooton.

Willis was quick to interject: “I know where this is going, [Hooton has] been writing the same column for three years.”

Willis then affirmed Luxon was “completely safe” as PM and noted how “invisible” Luxon’s coalition management was to the public and lauded his skill in assigning the right people to the right jobs, mentioning some of her colleagues in the audience.

“If you were to speak to Erica [Stanford] or Simeon [Brown] or Mitch [Mark Mitchell] today, they would say to you that a large part of their success is down to the Prime Minister’s backing and support.”

The report was written by Adam Pearse, Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team at Parliament.

We look forward to him reporting back after chatting with Stanford, Brown and Mitchell about the extent to which their rankings result from the PM’s efforts and how much of it results from their own.

Oh – and would they like to be the boss…?

 
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.